Bahamas Habitat

Director of Bahamas Habitat Relief Organization is a Test Case in Ground Breaking Flight Training Study at Redbird Skyport

Redbird Skyport and Bahamas Habitat announced an agreement for Redbird to provide the mission flying organization with a fully sponsored slot in their unique accelerated simulator based private pilot training program. Bahamas Habitat Executive Director Abraham McIntyre, a non-pilot candidate of Bahamas Habitat, is nearing completion of the program to be fully trained and certificated as a Private Pilot in about three to four weeks. Click here to learn more and view McIntyre’s interviews with AOPA Live’s Alyssa Miller about the program .

“We are immensely grateful to Redbird for their generous gift and support for our organization and we are very excited to be able to provide Abraham the opportunity to obtain his Private Certificate,” states John Armstrong, Bahamas Habitat Chairman & President.

“With his Private Pilot Certificate, Abe will be far more effective in his role as Executive Director for the Bahamian side of the mission organization. He has many projects in progress in remote locations that need the transportation solution only GA can provide”, states Steve Merritt, Bahamas Habitat Treasurer and Chief Pilot.

Redbird Skyport and Bahamas Habitat teamed up to give McIntyre the tools to better service the people of the Bahamas and are doing so in a revolutionary way. “Redbird Skyport is an amazingly valuable partner not only for supporting our mission training needs, but also for offering the potential to make aviation available to the wider public,” said Armstrong, who is also a pilot and aviation professional. “Redbird is revolutionizing pilot training and we are very excited about the new potential they are creating and the opportunity to be a part of this program.”

Bahamas Habitat is supported exclusively by the generous contributions of its volunteers and donors You can also make a contribution to Bahamas Habitat via the Bahamas Habitat website.

“While on location in The Bahamas working on an AOPA story for their magazine, the folks at AOPA contacted us and offered to fly a load of supplies in their Cessna Caravan” states John Armstrong, President of Bahamas Habitat. “They have been very supportive and interested in our progress on the Children’s Home project.”

The AOPA pilot for the flight was Luz Beattie, accompanied by Woody Cahall, Vice President Pilot Information Center and photographer Chris Rose. The group flew to Showalter Flying Service-KORL in Orlando, FL, where they picked up supplies for Zion Children’s Home and Bahamas Methodist Habitat (BMH). Gene and Katherine Zimmerman met them there and loaded supplies along with Pilot Luz. “The Showalter staff was a great help with loading and transporting items to the plane” said Katherine Zimmerman. The Children’s Home supplies included kitchen items purchased through the Zion Children gift registry at Bed Bath & Beyond. They dropped off all of the items at N. Eleuthera airport where they were met by Osbourn Weech, contractor for the Zion Home, and Abe McIntyre of BMH. Abe and Osbourn transported the supplies to their work sites.

Many thanks to Luz, Woody and Chris for their direct involvement in this project. Your efforts will benefit many children. Thanks also goes out to the AOPA organization and their continued involvement with Zion Children’s Home and Bahamas Habitat. We look forward to the possibility of partnering with you for future missions to aid the people of The Bahamas.

The first phase of the Zion Children’s Home Project construction is nearing completion! A team will be traveling to Eleuthera February 16-19^th with the intent of putting the finishing touches on the first 2 cottages. Upon completion, the home will provide a safe haven for 16 children seeking refuge from abuse and/or neglect.

Your support is needed to finish the Children’s Home! You can purchase a household item at our Bed Bath & Beyond gift registry (First Name-Zion, Last Name-Children) and have it shipped to the designated delivery point or make a monetary donation through the Bahamas Habitat website.

After Hurricane Irene there is still much to do. Pilots will fly to the Bahamas to make a difference while learning international mission flying.

19 September 2011 –– Bahamas Habitat announced today that in the wake of Hurricane Irene pilots are invited to join in the upcoming Fly-In & Help Out weekend flight to Eleuthera scheduled for Thursday, October 20th through Sunday, October 23rd, 2011. The organization is extending an open invitation to all interested aircraft owners and pilots to join this exciting mission which benefits the disaster relief and habitat repair operations of Bahamas Habitat. (more…)

The Zion Children’s Home (ZCH) has been a happenin’ place this June.  Contractor Osbourn Weech and the builders continued their diligent construction of the cottages.  On June 9, Bahamas Habitat (BH) volunteers carried two plane loads of building supplies plus laptop computers into North Eleuthera (MYEH).  Steve Larson and Drew Baird were in a Cherokee, and Steve Merritt flew the Bahamas Habitat Aztec with JD Carling, architect of the ZCH campus, and Gene and Katharine Zimmerman.

We had our first look at the site on the approach into MYEH.  This is one of my favorite parts of the trip.  I never cease to be amazed at how much progress has been made on the cottages.  It’s an Ephesians 3:20 moment for me…more than I can hope for or imagine.

Osbourn met everyone at the airport, we cleared customs, loaded supplies into his truck, packed in the church van and headed for Current Island.  At Current, the village on the other side of the cut, we were met by Mr. Pat who loaded us and our cargo onto his boat for a quick ride across the channel to Current Island.  We were greeted there by the sisters Geleta and Earmily, along with Cassandra – a Bahamas Methodist Habitat volunteer.

Mr. Pat loaded us and the supplies into his truck and we were finally at the site.  The buildings are awesome!  One of the cottages has a stucco finish with a light yellow patina.  It is a natural, warm color that requires no painting and will last for years.  JD Carling of R. Miller Architecture saw the site for only the second time.  He first came to Current Island when the Children’s Home was an only a wonderful idea.  We are grateful to JD for volunteering his time and skills to design these beautiful cottages.

While JD and Osbourn discussed building details, the rest walked through the cottages making plans for the next steps of the project.  Once construction is completed, furnishings will be purchased and installed and the grounds landscaped.  Osbourn tells me that he often wakes up in the middle of the night and imagines the happy children playing at their new home.  “I can’t wait to get up in the morning and work on the building,” he says we a broad smile.

On June 12, 10 volunteers from First United Methodist Church Orlando arrived in Current Island for a weeklong mission trip to help with ZCH construction.  The supplies flown in by the Bahamas Habitat volunteers had been delivered so the team can start electrical installation.  On the day the FUMCO team left,  the Men of Faith from Eleuthera spent a day at ZCH putting up walls.  Inspired by the project, they decided to return the very next weekend to continue their building.  Additional mission teams are scheduled during the summer and BH will be flying in supplies on a monthly basis.  Thank you to everyone who is making this dream a grace filled realty!

How can you be a part of this great endeavor?  First of all, continue to keep the project and the children in your prayers.  There are 16 abused youngsters who will be welcomed to the Zion Home just as soon as the cottages are completed.  You can also volunteer your time and your plane to deliver supplies to North Eleuthera (MYEH).

The total cost to complete the building, furnishing and landscaping of the two cottages is $160,000.  You can help us open the doors of the Zion Children’s Home by making a tax deductible contribution. A donation of $10,000 will cover the costs for one of the 16 children to move into their new home.  Whatever amount you are able to give will make a life changing difference for an abused child.

To learn more about the Zion Children’s Home and make a donation, visit our webpage at

http://www.bahamashabitat.org/wordpress/children/

Thanks be to God for this gracious blessing to us all.

Peace and grace to you.

Katharine Zimmerman

Bahamas Habitat Development Officer

email Katharine

Calling All Pilots

Capt. Ron McElroy
I’ve mused many times about the generosity and desire of pilots to help out and give back to the community. A famous example is the Young Eagles program hosted by EAA to give young people an opportunity to go flying in a general aviation airplane. Since 1992, more than 1.5 million Young Eagles have been given rides by 42,000 pilots in 90 countries. Pilot outreach is integral to our aviation DNA.

Many air shows promote mission work that entails months or years of preparation and commitment. That’s a huge commitment most cannot honor. One group, however, that caught my interest at Air Venture 2010 was Bahamas Habitat. Since 2007, they have organized private pilots and airplanes for community projects and disaster relief in the Caribbean. Their goal is to use their talents as pilots with airplanes to bring supplies to the Bahamas and nearby region.

Their founders, Steve Merritt and John Armstrong of North Carolina, realized that a partnership could be built with general aviation and (more…)

First foundation is complete! Follow the progress of the Children’s Home project on Facebook!

During the October 2010 Fly-In & Help Out Event a group of Bahamas Habitat Board Members and supporters traveled to Current Island to tour the construction site for the new Zions Methodist Children’s Home project.

The group observed that the site had been cleared, foundation footers have been dug and the cement block had been delivered. This is outstanding progress in just the first month of construction.

The group tour was led by Katharine Zimmerman. Katharine, along with her father Rev. Gene Zimmerman, has been spearheading the project in concert with Bahamas Habitat, Bahamas Methodist Habitat and the Bahamas Conference of the Methodist Church.

Bahamas Habitat received funding of several grants last month that allowed the project to get underway in earnest. The home, once completed, will be to house neglected and abused children from all over the Bahamas. Stay tuned for more updates.

Bahamas Habitat regularly considers construction methods and processes that could be applied in our various construction projects. During our last Fly-In & Help Out Event a group of our board members and supporters had the opportunity to tour a construction site on Eleuthera that is experimenting with alternative construction methods.

The builders at the site are using fiberglass rebar formed into dome structures and then using concrete with fibers to create the dome structures. It was very interesting for the group to have the chance to see the methods being used up close and discuss the project with the builders to learn about the various methods they had tried and the challenges involved.